Privacy Policy

We respect and are committed to protecting your privacy. That is why we have adopted this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy lets you know how your personal information is processed and used. We promise that we will take the steps to use your personal information only in ways that are compatible with this Privacy Policy. The following policies are only in effect for the Web pages, newsletters, discussion lists and opt-in announcement lists owned and operated by Merchant Media. The following discloses our Privacy Policy.

What information are you collecting and how are you collecting it?

Every computer connected to the Internet is given a domain name and a set of numbers that serve as that computer's "Internet Protocol" IP address. When a visitor requests a page from any Web site within the Merchant Media, our Web servers automatically recognize that visitor's domain name and IP address. The domain name and IP address reveal nothing personal about you other than the IP address from where you have accessed our site. We use this information to examine our traffic in aggregate and to investigate misuse of the Merchant Media, its users, or to cooperate with law enforcement. See also: Will you disclose the information you collect to outside third parties? We do not collect and evaluate this information for specific individuals. Our Web servers do not record e-mail addresses of the visitors.

What are cookies?

From time to time, Merchant Media or its advertisers may send a "cookie" to your computer. A cookie is a small piece of data that is sent to your browser from a Web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. A cookie can't read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other Web sites. Cookies do not damage your system. We use cookies to identify which areas of Merchant Media's Network of Web sites you have visited or customized so the next time you visit; those pages may be readily accessible. Our advertisers may also use cookies to ascertain how many times you have seen an advertisement. Merchant Media and its advertisers may use this information to better personalize the content, banners, and promotions that you see on our site. You can choose whether to accept cookies by changing the settings of your browser. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies, or allow your browser to show you when a cookie is being sent. If you choose not to accept these cookies, your experience at our Site and other Web sites may be diminished and some features may not work as intended.

How do you use single-pixel gifs?

Merchant Media and its advertisers may use single-pixel gif images, sometimes referred to as web bugs or web beacons, to count Web page accesses and gather some general statistical information. Merchant Media does not gather personal information through the use of these images. Our advertisers may use single-pixel gifs that can track personal information from cookies that may have been previously placed on a user's computer by an advertiser.

What information do you collect when I register for something?

Merchant Media offers access to some services that are free but that require registration. We may use your registration contact information to send notification of Merchant Media products and services by e-mail and/or postal mail. We also may share that information with our clients. Our clients may send you promotional material that is related to the topic of the service for which you registered unless you have chosen not to receive it. We may also use your IP address internally and share it with third parties. See: Will you disclose the information that you collect to outside third parties?

What other information do you request?

We may also request your e-mail address or mailing address for the purposes of conducting a survey or to provide additional services such as: subscriptions to e-mail newsletters, announcement lists or information about conferences and trade shows. Whenever we request the identity of a visitor, we will clearly indicate the purpose of the inquiry before the information is requested. We maintain a strict "No-Spam" policy that means that we do not intend to sell, rent, or otherwise give your e-mail address to a third-party without your consent.

We may, from time to time, send e-mail announcing new Merchant Media products and services. Except as stated above, Merchant Media will not send you e-mail that you have not agreed to receive. If you choose to supply your postal address in an online form, you may receive mailings from other third party companies.

When you enter a contest or other promotion, we may ask for your name, address, and e-mail address so we can administer the contest and notify winners.

What information do you collect when I purchase something?

If you are purchasing something from Merchant Media, we need to know your name, e-mail address, mailing address, credit card number and expiration date. This allows us to process and fulfill your order and to notify you of your order status. This information may also be used by us to notify you of related products and services. Credit card and e-mail information will not be shared or sold to third parties for any purpose without your express permission.

Certain Merchant Media properties use a shopping cart feature that safeguards this information by using industry standard SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encrypted servers. SSL codes the information transferred between you and the server, rendering it unreadable to anyone trying to intercept the information.

Wherever Merchant Media collects personal information we make an effort to include a link to this Privacy Policy on that page.

Will you disclose the information you collect to outside third parties?

Merchant Media will disclose personal information and/or an IP address when required by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to:

1) Conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Merchant Media,

2) Protect and defend the rights or property of the Merchant Media Network of sites and related properties, or visitors to the Merchant Media Network of sites and related properties,

3) Identify persons who may be violating the law, the Merchant Media legal notice and Web site User Agreement, the rights of third parties, or otherwise misusing the Merchant Media Network or its related properties,

4) Cooperate with the investigations of purported unlawful activities.

Merchant Media uses reasonable precautions to keep the information disclosed to us secure. Merchant Media reserves the right to transfer all such information in connection with the sale of all or part of Merchant Media's capital stock or assets. Furthermore, we are not responsible for any breach of security or for any actions of any third parties that receive the information. We are not responsible for such third party privacy policies or how they treat information about their users. See below: What else should I know about my privacy when online?

Opt-in announcement List Privacy Policy

As an added benefit to the visitors of the Merchant Media Network of sites, we have a relationship with livemercial.com, an independent, third party company that sends e-mail announcements to individuals who request to receive them. When you sign up for a Merchant Media e-mail newsletter, you are given the opportunity to also receive announcement lists from livemercial.com. Whether you want to receive these announcement lists is your choice; you should only receive those lists you affirmatively choose to. If you choose to receive a specific announcement list, you will receive commercial messages that are related to the topic of the list from independent third parties that have contracted with Merchant Media and/or livemercial.com to send messages to the list. Personally identifiable information will not be used by Merchant Media or livemercial.com for any purposes other than to deliver the e-mail announcements. You may stop the arrival of these announcement lists at any time by removing your e-mail address from the list by forwarding the announcement list to deleteall@livemercial.com, or by following the instructions on the e-mails you receive.

Your Consent To This Agreement. By using our Web site, you consent to the collection and use of information by Merchant Media as specified above. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.